Harry Potter for Grown-ups?
With the craze over the release of the very last Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and the success of HBO's A Game of Thrones, fantasy continues to be very popular. Even the TV networks have jumped on the bandwagon with the new series Once Upon a Time and Grimm.
One new fantasy novel, Lev Grossman's The Magicians, has been called "Harry Potter for Grown-ups". It is the story of seventeen year-old Quentin Coldwater who is very smart and very miserable. A fan of fantasy novels since he was a kid, he dreams of escaping his unhappy life and travelling to the world of Fillory, the imaginary world of his favourite children's series Fillory and Further. He has always wanted to perform magic but, like most people, he does not think that magic, or Fillory, are real.
Through a strange series of events, his life suddenly improves when he finds himself accepted to Brakebills, the only school of magic in North America. The first part of the novel covers Quentin's years at Brakebills, where in addition to learning magic, he experiences all the usual events of college – first love, self-doubt, making and losing friends and new challenges.
The next section starts after graduation when one of his friends figures out a way to actually get to Fillory. Once there, Quentin and his friends will find out whether or not an adventure in a magical world is as great as they always dreamed it would be. The story continues in the recently published The Magician King.
The two books have received good reviews in the Globe and Mail and the Guardian. A good book for adults who grew up reading the Narnia series (which Fillory resembles) and other fantasy. However, the pace is much slower than most books in this genre and the themes and content are more adult. If you are interested, place your hold soon as there are rumours that Fox will be making it into a series.
For more suggestions on books that may appeal to fantasy fans, check out our Wild about Harry Potter? Recommended Books list.
Magicians is also available in audiobook, eBook and eAudiobook formats.
The Magician King is also available in audiobook format.
3 thoughts on “Harry Potter for Grown-ups?”
I knew I would have to buy The Magicians for our school library so I borrowed a copy from TPL to read before I purchased a copy. I persisted and managed to finish it but I never really got into the story and I never really cared enough about any of the characters. My head librarian also tried to read this and only finished the first few chapters before giving it up. I even tried to read the sequel but it just didn’t grab me. I would much rather go back and read the Harry Potter books again. I am always disappointed when a book gets great reviews but I just can’t make myself like them.
Thanks for the comment Elvina. I’ve had that happen many a time, where a well reviewed (or award-winning) book just doesn’t appeal to me. I agree, it is disappointing. On the other hand, if it’s a library book, you can just return it and pick up something else!
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